Much of the conservative concern with immigration revolves around assimilation. How can we ensure that immigrant children are speaking our language and understanding our culture? Educating them in charter schools is an important part of the answer.

“Students who strengthen their first language have an easier time acquiring a second language,” Atyani Howard, the chief academic officer at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy in Los Angeles, said Tuesday. “Over time, they outperform their monolingual peers.” Howard was speaking at a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.